The man who administered the last rites to Pope John Paul II has been his closest aide and personal secretary since his days as a bishop in Krakow – and one of the Vatican insiders who has managed the day-to-day duties of the Catholic Church leadership during the pontiff’s decline.

Stanislaw Dziwisz, 65, has known John Paul since they skied together in Poland four decades ago.

It was Dziwisz (pronounced “Jeevish”) who in 2003 denied news reports that the pope was “dying.”

“Many journalists who in the past have written about the pope’s health are now in heaven,” he quipped.

But it was also Dziwisz who administered the last rites to his longtime friend before his tracheotomy in February – and again Thursday night after John Paul’s health took a sudden turn for the worse.

It was the third time, including once after the 1981 assassination attempt on the pope, that he had been administered the Sacrament of Annointing of the Sick.

Dziwisz followed him to the Vatican after John Paul’s elevation in 1978 and was quickly identified as the unofficial gatekeeper for the new pope.

He ate every meal with John Paul, slept next to his bedroom in the Apostolic Palace and appeared just over the pope’s shoulder during Mass.